Astrid (Skyrim)
(Death Incarnate) |Base ID = (Death Incarnate) }} Astrid is the leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim and wife of another Dark Brotherhood member, Arnbjorn. She resides in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, near Falkreath, and holds the responsibility of finding new recruits in the Night Mother's absence. Background When asked about herself after the Dragonborn joins the Dark Brotherhood, Astrid says that she had an uncle who made "unwanted advances" towards her, so she killed him. It "felt good, really good," so she killed another, unspecified person, and it "felt even better." After an unknown amount of time, she joined the Dark Brotherhood and later married another Brotherhood member, Arnbjorn. Personality Astrid decrees her unbeatable dictatorship, comparable and "stronger" than The Five Tenets. She tires of the laws and restrictions that limit the Brotherhood, deciding that a sort of family-like unity benefits the members of the Brotherhood better than structure. Upon the arrival of the Night Mother and the discovery that the Dragonborn is the new Listener, Astrid, with her leadership threatened, sold out the Dragonborn to the Penitus Oculatus. However, when Commander Maro betrayed Astrid by ordering an attack on the Falkreath Sanctuary that slaughtered most of the assassins, Astrid realizes her mistake in thinking she was the sole authority of the Brotherhood by going against the Five Tenets, as "they have guided the Brotherhood for centuries. I was a fool to oppose them," and as well for leading to the deaths of most of the Brotherhood, and before her death pleads forgiveness for her transgressions against the Night Mother and the Dragonborn. Interactions With Friends Like These... Successfully killing Grelod the Kind for Aventus Aretino causes Astrid to kidnap the Dragonborn once the Mysterious Note is received. She brings them to an abandoned shack and asks them to kill one of three hostages. Regardless of whom the Dragonborn kills, Astrid gives them directions to the Sanctuary, and invites them to join her "family." Should the Dragonborn choose to kill Astrid instead during this encounter, Commander Maro learns of the deed and tasks the Dragonborn with eradicating the remaining members of the Dark Brotherhood. Sanctuary Once the Dragonborn has arrived at the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary just outside of Falkreath, Astrid directs them to speak to Nazir for side contracts the Dark Brotherhood has received until she has an important one for him. Mourning Never Comes Once the Dragonborn returns from completing one of Nazir's contracts, Astrid tells them to head to Markarth to speak to Muiri about a big job she has requested of the Dark Brotherhood. Once the Dragonborn returns from completing the job, Astrid asks them how it went before assigning them their next quest. Whispers in the Dark Astrid asks the Dragonborn to spy on Cicero, as she suspects that he is plotting with another member of the sanctuary to destroy the Brotherhood. The Dragonborn obeys, hearing the Night Mother speak and becoming her Listener. Threatened by the Night Mother's choice, Astrid reclaims her authority by sending the Dragonborn on off-handed contracts until she investigates the contract the Night Mother told the Listener. The Silence Has Been Broken After the Dragonborn returns from completing another of Nazir's contracts, Astrid decides that since the Night Mother has spoken and revealed a contact for a contract in Amaund Motierre at the Nordic Tombs of Volunruud, she sends the Dragonborn to check it out. Once there, Amaund gives the Dragonborn two items to deliver to Astrid. Once they are delivered, Astrid directs the Dragonborn to speak to Delvin Mallory of the Thieves Guild in The Ragged Flagon in Riften for more info. Once the Dragonborn returns with a Letter of Credit from Delvin for Astrid, she prepares to carry out Amaund's request: The murder of Titus Mede II, Emperor of Tamriel, with the first target being his cousin, currently living in Solitude, Vittoria Vici. Bound Until Death In a bid to carry out Amaund's hit on the Emperor of Cyrodiil, Astrid plans to assassinate the Emperor's cousin, Vittoria Vici, during her wedding to Asgeir Snow-Shod in Solitude, which was part of an intended plan to try and broker peace between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks, and assigns the Dragonborn to carry out the hit on Vittoria. After Vittoria is successfully murdered, if the Dragonborn's cover was blown, Astrid will dispatch Veezara to aid the Dragonborn in escaping the angry crowd of wedding guests, Hold Guards, and Penitus Oculatus Agents and retreat back to the Sanctuary. Breaching Security With Vittoria dead, and word of the Emperor on his way to Skyrim to oversee the Skyrim Civil War now public knowledge, the next step to assassinating the Emperor was to convince his elite guard, the Penitus Oculatus, that there was no threat to the Emperor's life at the moment, causing them to let their guard down. To do that, the plan was to murder Commander Maro's son, Gaius Maro, and plant an Incriminating Letter on him to make it look like an attempt on the Emperor's life by the Stormcloaks had already been foiled, and Gaius was a traitor, providing the Stormcloaks all the details for the hit in secret. This would distract Maro and thus reduce the chances of being caught performing the hit on the Emperor later. The Cure for Madness Since the return of the Night Mother, Astrid has become more uneasy in her trust of Cicero, feeling like his return of the Night Mother's body to the Dark Brotherhood is threatening her leadership. She dispatches the Dragonborn to deal with Cicero, but in the end, the Dragonborn can either kill or spare Cicero, and either lie or tell the truth of his death to Astrid to put her at ease. Recipe for Disaster With Cicero dealt with and Maro distracted with his belief that his son was a Stormcloak spy, Astrid now assigns the Dragonborn to locate and kill Balagog gro-Nolob, also known as "The Gourmet," a well-known and famous Orc chef, using his fame as a disguise to get into Castle Dour to assassinate the Emperor during his visit by poisoning his meal, but also make certain to hide The Gourmet's body so that no one will suspect that the Dragonborn is impersonating him. To Kill an Empire With everything set to carry out the assassination of Emperor Titus Mede II when he is in Skyrim and staying at Castle Dour in Solitude, Astrid sends the Dragonborn to carry out the murder, disguised as The Gourmet. However, it turns out that Astrid, fearing that her leadership of the Dark Brotherhood was threatened by the Dragonborn being the new Listener for the Night Mother, betrays him and reports the assassination attempt to the Penitus Oculatus and Maro himself, in return for amnesty and protection of the Dark Brotherhood. As a result, the Dragonborn only succeeds with killing a decoy Emperor. Maro, however, reveals he had no intention of upholding his end of the agreement with Astrid and sends his men to attack the Sanctuary anyway to make sure that Astrid and the Dark Brotherhood would not threaten the Emperor any further. Death Incarnate Upon the attack on the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, many of the Assassins of the Dark Brotherhood fell, including Astrid. When she is found, her body is charred and burned beyond recognition. She begs the Dragonborn to kill her by performing The Black Sacrament, dubbing the Dragonborn her replacement as leader of the brotherhood and admitting she was wrong for defying the Night Mother and the Dark Brotherhood's Five Tenets. She also explains that she negotiated with the head of the Penitus Oculatus, Commander Maro, into revealing the identity of the Dragonborn in exchange for political immunity. Maro went back on his word, attacking the sanctuary in revenge for his son. She asks to be killed with her Blade of Woe, but she can be killed with any weapon. After Astrid's death, the Dragonborn and the remaining assassins, including Nazir and Babette, move to the Dawnstar Sanctuary, where Cicero fled and can still be found if he was spared. Destroy the Dark Brotherhood! Should the Dragonborn choose to kill Astrid instead of one of the hostages, her death will need to be reported to a guard as soon as possible. Learning of Astrid's death, the Dragonborn will be directed to report to Commander Maro at the Penitus Oculatus Outpost in Dragon Bridge to notify him of Astrid's death. Learning of her death, Maro assigns the Dragonborn to head for their sanctuary in Falkreath to wipe the rest of the group out. Once done, Maro commends the Dragonborn for getting rid of the Dark Brotherhood and will report their success directly to Emperor Titus Mede II, thanking them for saving the Emperor from any threat the Dark Brotherhood may have posed to him. Dialogue Conversations ;Arriving in the Sanctuary Cicero: "But the Night Mother is mother to all! It is her voice we follow! Her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely... punishment?" Arnbjorn: "Keep talking, little man, and we'll see who gets "punished."" Festus Krex: "Oh, be quiet you great lumbering lapdog. The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil. Mister Cicero, I for one am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition." Cicero: "Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are. Sure to earn our Lady's favor." Astrid: "You and the Night Mother are of course welcome here, Cicero. And you will be afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper. Understood... husband?" Arnbjorn: "Hmph." Cicero: "Oh, yes yes yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Astrid: "But make no mistake. I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that point?" Cicero: "Oh yes, mistress. Perfectly! You're the boss." ;The Listener Astrid: "By Sithis, this ends now! Back away, fool! Whatever you've been planning is over! Are you all right? I heard the commotion. Who was Cicero talking to? Where's the accomplice? Reveal yourself, traitor!" Cicero: "I spoke only to the Night Mother! I spoke to the Night Mother, but she didn't speak to me. Oh no. She spoke only to him/her! To the listener!" Astrid: "What? The Listener? What are you going on about? What is this lunacy?" Cicero: "It's true, it's true! The Night Mother has spoken! The silence has been broken! The Listener has been chosen!" ;The Cure for Madness Babette: "Just try to relax, Veezara. Let the elixir do its work. You'll feel better, shortly." Veezara: "Achh... Thank you, dear. You are most kind. The jester's cut feels as bad as it looks, I'm afraid." Astrid: "Damn it, this never should have happened! We knew better. We knew better, and still we let our guards down. Agh!" Festus Krex: "I'll admit, even I'm having a hard time disagreeing with you..." the Dragonborn speaks to Astrid Festus Krex: "It's true, I'm afraid, Cicero was a little whirlwind, slashing this way and all that. It would have been funny, if he weren't trying to murder us all." Nazir: "Don't forget the ranting and raving. About the Night Mother, how she was the true leader of the Dark Brotherhood, and Astrid was just a "pretender."" the Dragonborn speaks to Astrid again Veezara: "Bested by a fool. Who's the fool now, hmm?" Babette: "Hush, Veezara. You were very brave. Astrid may well be dead if not for you." Astrid: "She's right. I'll be forever in your debt, dearest brother. Now be quiet. Just... just rest." Gallery Astrid - In Abandoned Shack.png|Astrid, sitting in the abandoned shack. Trivia *Astrid is voiced by Cindy Robinson.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1814884/fullcredits#cast Full cast list at Internet Movie Database] Robinson is best known for her role as the current voice of Amy Rose in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise. *The quests "With Friends Like These..." and "Death Incarnate" are the only times that Astrid can be killed. Otherwise, she is flagged as an essential character and cannot be killed. Because of this, she can be exploited for fast skill leveling. *If she is killed in "With Friends Like These..." she says to the Dragonborn, "Well done," as her last words. *Astrid can be reanimated as a Dead Thrall after killing her, and she keeps her original dialogue; however, she only retains one point of health. *During the beginning of "With Friends Like These..." is the only time Astrid wears a cowl. *When on her deathbed, Astrid says that she deserves whatever punishment Sithis has planned for her in the Void, though the Night Mother says the exact opposite; that Astrid "may find redemption in the Void." *Astrid signs the Dark Brotherhood Assassin's Note in the orders to kill the Dragonborn. *Astrid is immune to all forms of paralysis, according to the Creation Kit. Bugs *Sometimes Nazir mentions Astrid waiting at a pool after completion of the questline, even though she is dead. *If one gets caught pickpocketing an item from or onto Astrid while she is in her burnt state during the quest "Death Incarnate," she will jump up and attack you. Nazir may then attack her. Appearances * * de:Astrid (Skyrim) es:Astrid (Skyrim) fr:Astrid it:Astrid pl:Astrid (Skyrim) pt:Astrid ru:Астрид (персонаж) Category:Skyrim: Dark Brotherhood Members Category:Skyrim: Essential Characters Category:Skyrim: Quest Givers Category:Skyrim: Falkreath Hold Characters